Murder Mystery Wizard
by Hufflepuff519
Summary: Young Richard Castle gets his letter to Hogwarts and discovers a whole new world of adventure awaits him. He also meets the girl of his dreams...can you guess who? multichapter, and from two different perspectives...see first chapter for details.
1. Chapter 1

This is a Castle/Harry Potter crossover fic. Mostly a Castle centric story set against a Harry Potter/Hogwarts backdrop. this fic is also in collaboration with my friend HermioneCastle who is writing Beckett's POV while I am writing Castle's POV.

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the tv show Castle or Harry P****otter I'm simply having fun with the characters for a while. :)**_

Chapter 1: The Letter

The morning of July 26th dawned brightly through the bedroom window of 11 year old Richard Castle(or Ricky, as his mother liked to call him), who had been sleeping soundly in the apartment he lived in with his mother Martha Rogers. As it was summer vacation and there was no school he was pretty much free to do as he pleased for the day, so long as he wasn't spending all day in bed, which his mother would surely scowl at and nag him for it. This morning seemed any normal morning for him as he woke to the sun in his eyes; the book he had been up late last night reading, "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyal, lay sloppily open on the night stand, next to the bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyelids, and running a hand through his short brown hair he got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen to hunt down some breakfast.

On his way to the kitchen he stopped for a brief moment to peer out the window. What he spotted was not only the familiar New York skyline but also and perhaps more peculiar was a large bird. The large predatory animal turned out to be an owl and it was headed straight for the window. Rick not knowing what to do backed quickly away from the window preparing to hear the crash of the owl hitting the glass of the window but it never came. Instead, the owl landed lightly on the window ledge and strangely enough began to tap on the glass with its beak as if irritated that it was not allowed in. Rick, being the eleven year-old that he was, was intrigued by the creature's persistent tapping and slowly began to open the window. Quickly, the owl, after being permitted inside flew past Rick and on to the nearest landing which just happened to be the coffee table in the living room, and stuck out its leg to present the letter attached to it.

"Well this is certainly turning into an interesting morning", Rick said out loud though no one else was actually in the apartment. (His mother was probably out getting coffee with her friends). The animal in front of him didn't appear to be dangerous but he was apprehensive all the same. Finally, despite his rational brain telling him that this was not normal, he slowly reached out to pull on the small string attached to the bird's leg, releasing the letter, which just happened to have his name written across the front in bright green ink. He grabbed the letter in his trembling fingers, nervous about what could possibly be inside and flinched suddenly as the owl took off from its post on the table and flew back out the open window.

"What on Earth is going on?" he thought as he tore the parchment to reveal the mystery that lay inside. He unfolded the parchment with the most quizzical of expressions on his face and read:

Dear Mr. Castle,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry….

Chapter 2: An Explaination

Dear Mr. Castle,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…

…

Signed,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Rick sat there on the couch, shocked out of his mind. This had to be a joke. Surely someone was playing some really weird prank on him. There was no way that he could possibly be a wizard. The letter had contained instructions for getting to some place at a train station called King's Cross; Platform 9 & ¾? That just sounded silly even to him, as Richard Castle thrived in the world of his own imagination and believed he would be a famous novelist one day. But, did he really have the ability to do magic? Sure he loved magic tricks magicians would pull off in shows but he knew deep down that there was no such thing as really magic…or so he thought.

Suddenly he heard the key turn in the lock and his mom walked through the front door. _Oh no_, he thought to himself, _how am I supposed to explain this to Mom?_

"Ricky, are you awake? I brought some of those cinnamon rolls you like."

Sure enough the smell of fresh cinnamon floated into the room and up into his sinuses and Rick was pulled back into reality as the hunger in his stomach from earlier rumbled down in the pit of his stomach. He got up and made his way to the kitchen.

Martha looked at her son with a mixture of contentment at seeing him awake so early and concern at the look on his face and the strange envelope in his hand.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong", she said scooping a cinnamon roll out the pastry box and on to a plate on the counter in front of Rick.

"Oh it's nothing," Ricky said quickly trying to hide the parchment behind his back quickly.

"No, you are hiding something from me. Now what is it? Richard, you can tell me," her eyes glaring at him as if she had caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Well, Mom, you are NOT going to believe this but…ok here it goes. '." The words spilled out of his mouth as if getting them out quickly enough would save him from embarrassment and possibly punishment.

"Wait, wait. Please slow down. I didn't get any of that," Martha said sounding a little exasperated. Instead of speaking Rick simply handed that letter to his mother and let her read it for herself. After a moment or two she looked up from the letter with a pleased expression on her face to which Rick looked rather confused.

"Honey, this is wonderful," she said wrapping her son in a hug.

Rick could only feel dumbfounded, had he heard her correctly? "What do you mean 'wonderful'? Don't you find this all just a little strange?"

Martha Rogers certainly had not raised an imbecile for a son. She finally concluded to herself that she would have to explain everything to him. She knew this day would come. She proceeded to explain to Rick about how she knew of the wizarding world because as it turns out Rick's father, Jonathan Castle was a wizard. Hogwarts was a real place and if Rick wanted to go there and train to be a wizard she would certainly give her blessing.

"Mom, why did you never say anything to me before"?

"Well, darling, I didn't want you to get your hopes up and then have it turn out that you hadn't inherited your father's 'special talents'. Of course after your father walked out I spent a lot of time hoping that I may not have to have this talk with you because I thought it would be too painful for me to talk about him. However as time went on I thought I should prepare myself for it in case the day did come that you would find out that you were really a wizard. Please don't be angry with me darling I knew when the time was right that I would eventually share the truth with you. I guess that day is today." The look on the woman's face held a slight pang of sadness as dragging up the past but also a glow of hopefulness for the future.

"I'm not angry Mom. I'm a bit shocked, but I am certainly not angry…not at you anyway. I'm angry at the man who once called me his son and then walked out of our lives before I got the chance to know him." Silent tears slowly made their way down the young boy's cheeks as he pulled his mother to him for a reassuring hug. "I love you, Mom," was all he could say after that.

"I love you too, Richard."

**to be continued...**

**This is my first Fanfic. Long time fanfiction reader, first time writer. If you do reveiw please be gentle. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 3: At First Glance

Rick woke up the morning of the 25th of August eager to start in on this new life of his. His mother had told him that they would be leaving at 4:30 AM to be at the airport at 5 in order to make their plan to London at 7 AM. So Rick had all of his bags packed the night before. Martha had told him that they were going to be meeting up with an old friend of his father who would be their connection to the Wizarding World. The woman, Johanna Beckett was supposed to be able to get them into some place called Diagon Alley. Also this witch was supposed to have a daughter that was going to be going to Hogwarts for the first time. Well at least he might know someone when he goes to Hogwarts. He hated the idea of going in blind.

Before he knew it he was in the car on the way to the airport. During the car ride Rick didn't really notice any of his surroundings. He was too wrapped up in the world of his own imagination thinking about what would be happening to him the next few days and the months to come. Would he fit in at Hogwarts? Would he do well in his classes? Would he be teased because of his background? So many questions raced through Castle's mind that hour before they finally made their way onto the plane.

"Sweetheart why do you go find your seat, I'm going to store my carry-on," said Martha.

Rick looked down at his ticket. It read 25 A. 'Ok, whatever' he thought tugging his bag along down the aisle. When he got to his row he looked down to see a girl about his age with light brown hair sitting in what he assumed to be his seat.

Excuse me," said Rick "I think you're in MY spot."

"Um no, my ticket says 25 C that's the aisle. MY seat" the girl responded pointing to her seat beneath her.

Determined to get his way and get the aisle seat he puts up an argumentative statement: "Uh, no you're wrong that's my seat."

"Fine then PROVE it." The brunette chanted, staring him down. He wasn't going to win this one.

"I don't want to prove it and I shouldn't have to," said Rick, getting very irritated for apparently no reason. Rick's brow furrowed and his nose scrunched up as it always did when got mad. Then to make the situation all the more fun his mother chose that moment to show up.

"Ricky, what are you up to?"

"Nothing," and then in a voice he thought only the girl could heard he again stated, "she's in my seat."

"Oh dear, no she isn't. Your seat is 25 A, by the window." Rick sighed in defeat and took his actual seat, glaring at the feisty brunette as if to say 'this isn't over'.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kate, that he is causing so much trouble," he heard his mother say to the girl wondering how on Earth his mom knew this girl's name. That's all he managed to hear of the conversation between Kate and his mother.

"By the way, It's Rick, not _Ricky,_" the boy pointed out before turning to the front and doing his best to ignore her but all the while, thinking back on this interesting turn of events. Why did his mother know who she was? Could this possibly be the daughter of this mysterious Johanna Beckett his mom had spoken of earlier? Was it just a strange coincidence that they were seated this closely to one another with his mom between them? Well at least he would have to talk to her that way. But he also noticed that she appeared to making an attempt at sleep, her eyes were closed after all.

Finally he decided it would be better to busy himself with something else and turned his attention to the in flight movie that had started to play.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Here's a nice long chapter for any peeps that are following this story. Enjoy. Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or Harry Potter.**

Chapter 4: What's a Muggle?

The flight across the Atlantic seemed to take forever. 10 hours of listening to his mother talk across the aisle to a couple, about her age, whom he had never met before. Martha introduced them to him as Jim and Johanna Beckett.

'Ah,' Rick thought to himself, 'so this girl with the attitude is their daughter, Kate. We're going to Hogwarts together? Hmm…who would have thought? Well it's good to know our relationship has started off well. Psh…yeah right she probably hates me now. Oh, well, It's not like we're gonna be spending _that_ much time together.'

Rick was pulled out of his pondering by the flight attendants giving out landing procedures and instructions. As they prepared to land, Rick noticed Mrs. Beckett reach across the aisle to her daughter to wake her up, as she had been asleep for most of the flight.

When they were all shuffling off the plane and into the airport Rick found himself standing behind Kate, who appeared to be ignoring him and didn't seem to care too much that he was even there. He had to admit that there was something about her that bothered him. She seemed to be more or less a kid just like him but somehow more mature and confident in herself in a way that Rick never truly was. However they had just met not 10 hours ago and had not said too much to each other since then. He didn't want to jump to conclusions about her just yet. For all he knew the two of them could actually end up being friends…eventually.

Once they made it through customs and stepped out of the airport with their entire luggage Mrs. Beckett was the first to speak.

"So, everyone, there is a shuttle that stops close to The Leaky Cauldron. We can take that, grab a quick meal and head to bed. I don't think anyone would argue that this has been a long day for us all."

"The Leaky Cauldron? That's an odd name for a Hotel." said Rick out loud without even really thinking.

"Well actually, Rick, it's a wizarding inn and pub. The 'Leaky Cauldron' part is mostly just a tip off to the fact that it's a bar."

"Sounds good," replied Martha with a look of mixed relief and interest on her face. "You know it's funny, I used to hear about that place but have never actually been there."

"Well I suppose you wouldn't have been considering you are a muggle," said Mrs. Beckett.

"Muggle?" Rick asked, confused, "what's a Muggle?"

It was Kate's turn to chime in. "A Muggle is a non-magical person. There's nothing bad about the word, it's just what most witches and wizards use when talking about folks outside the wizarding world."

Rick nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, Dad here is a muggle just like your mom."

"I'm still trying to get used to the idea that I have magical powers. It's like something out of a comic book."

Kate couldn't help but giggle a bit at this and just smiled shaking her head.

'Great, my first time meeting a couple of witches and I come off as an incompetent idiot.' Rick thought to himself as they boarded theshuttle to The Leaky Cauldron, as it was apparently called. Rick could tell this girl was going to be a thorn in his side. How was he supposed to survive in the wizarding world when he didn't even know what a muggle was?

There was so much to look at as they rode through the crowded streets of London. The hustle and bustle of the streets seemed like such a chaotic mess that it was a relief to have all the glorious timeless sites of London to look up at. Living in New York City gave Rick a good feel for the big city but N.Y.C. was in its infancy compared to London in all its historical brilliance. He thought back to the book he had packed away in his trunk, The Hound of the Baskervilles and suddenly felt a strange urge to want to try finding 221 b. Baker St.

"Wow, this is amazing!" exclaimed Kate from the seat behind him as she gazed out her window, much the way he had been.

"Well, at least you and I agree on _something_." Rick replied, though her comment hadn't really been directed toward him. He turned in his seat and cocked an eyebrow up at her with the slightest of cocky smirks making its way across his face.

When she just shook her head and turned to her dad, who had been rather quiet up to this point. Perhaps he just wasn't a talkative guy. Though, Kate _had _mentioned that he was a muggle so maybe a lot of this was going over his head too, though Rick had the unfortunate feeling that Jim Beckett knew more about the wizarding community than Rick. He wouldn't be surprised at this considering he had just learned about all of this a little less than a month ago and now he was off to a school to learn about magic, this was going to be so cool. At first when his mom told him that Hogwarts was in England that idea sort side swiped him but he slowly warmed up to the notion of being away from his mother for a while. He was getting close to that age where he thought maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. His mom was a good provider and never failed to be there when he needed her but he was a growing boy who didn't want his mother hanging over his shoulder all the time.

The shuttle pulled up to the curb on a side street to let its passengers off and quickly took off again. The five of them gathered their possessions and Mrs. Beckett led the way to the Leaky Cauldron. Rick was beginning to think the place couldn't be found but then he noticed a small, dirty, weathered sign suspended above him. The sign held a picture of an old witch stirring a rather large cauldron that, if one looked closely enough, did in fact have a small crack in the bottom. 'Well what do you know?' Rick just smiled and figured he should probably just go with it. He also looked over at Kate at that moment and saw the she had small quizzical look of excitement on her face. Perhaps it was at the prospect of seeing a place she'd heard of before but had never been to for the first time or at the thought of getting go to bed soon. Either way Rick was definitely tired despite the fact that it was only about 8 'o clock at night. Unlike his female counterpart he _hadn't _slept through the whole plane ride and was beginning to experience that dreaded feeling of jet lag.

"Mom please tell me we're going to bed soon"

Martha looked down at her son slightly bewildered. "Wait, you actually _want_ to go to bed? Well this is a first." She joked and the small dose of humor did not go unnoticed by Mr. Beckett who couldn't help but chuckle.

"I suppose you're right, son" the older man agreed "It has been quite a long day, right Katie?"

Kate just nodded not really caring enough about their mundane conversation to really pay attention.

As they entered to pub Rick tried to take in as much of it as he possibly could. He had never been anywhere before that was actually a legitimate part of the wizarding world and he was anxious to see what it was like. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few glasses on top of the bar that appeared to be cleaning themselves everything seemed relatively normal and could pass off as a typical bar, not that Rick had actually been in too many of those.

Before Rick knew it he looked up and saw Mrs. Beckett standing there holding three keys in her hand. She had been to talk to the strange looking man standing behind the bar, Rick hadn't caught his name. Kate, it turns out had been thinking the same thing he had because instantly asked:

"Mom, why are you holding three keys?"

"Well you see, Martha is going to have her own room. Your father and I will share another and you and Rick _will_ be sharing the last room."

"Why?" Rick and Kate responded at the same time, each one looking at the other in shock.

'Really?' Rick thought to himself, 'I have to share a room with this, this, this… _girl_?'

Kate had taken the key from her mother and they dragged their trunks toward the stairs. Suddenly Rick bumped into the girl walking ahead of him to see that she had stopped and was looking back and forth between the stairs and her trunk quizzically.

Rick had been wondering how on earth he was going to lug his heavy trunk up the stairs. But it would appear that Kate couldn't figure it out either. Rick, seeing this, couldn't resist the urge to laugh at her lack of creativity. So he did release a tiny chuckle at Little Miss Know-It-All.

"What exactly are you laughing at," said Kate, who had turned around to glare at him. "You think you know how to get up the stairs?" Rick wiped to the smug look of his face and looked on in awe when Mrs. Beckett flicked her wand muttering some words Rick couldn't understand and the trunks began to float up the stairs.

When they got up to the room with the number 10 embroidered on the bronze face plate of the door Kate stuck the key in the key hole and slowly pushed the door open with a soft _creek_.

Rick barely looked around the room before setting his trunk on the floor by the foot of his twin bed. He simply pulled the covers down on the bed and crawled in. This left Kate to deal with having to fall asleep to sound of his snoring which he would undoubtedly deny in the morning. The last thing that Rick could remember before finally falling asleep was the sound of Kate coming back into the room and flopping onto the matching twin bed across the room.

**Author's Note: sorry it took so long to post this chapter. Hope you enjoy. Reviews are welcome…good or bad. **


	4. Chapter 4

_**Diagon Alley**_

"Richard darling, it's time to get up."

Rich vaguely heard the sound of his mom's voice as he lay there still trying to draw himself into consciousness. He had slept rather well for being in such a strange place.

"Ok, Mom I'm up", he said as he sat up to scan the grey room and saw the other twin bed across from his, it's occupant from last night having already vacated it.

"Did you sleep well Ricky? It took me quite a while to wake you."

"Yeah I did."

"Well then go get ready to go and meet the rest of us down stairs for a little breakfast before we head out shopping. You and I are going to get to see the legendary Diagon Alley today for the first time. Your little friend Kate can't stop talking about how excited she is to go to all the wizarding shops. Honestly, I think you'll be more excited to see the bank…I forget what it's called…I hear its run by goblins."

Rick turned to his mother with an earnest look of amazement on his face and said, "Really?"

"That's what they tell me. Now get dressed we'll be leaving soon." With that the red headed woman left the room and shut the door behind her.

'Goblin's? Really? Well, that's cool.' Rick thought to himself as he pulled on a blue t-shirt and jeans. He looked under the bed to find his shoes that he didn't even remember taking off last night and once he found them, dragged them on bolted out the door and headed down the stairs to the bar area, assuming that this was where his mother meant when she told him to meet then downstairs.

"Good morning Rick," came the voice of Mrs. Beckett, "sit down and have some eggs and toast here before we go."

"You're going to need the energy young man," said Mr. Beckett, "trust me, these women," he gestured to his wife and daughter, "can shop for hours. We might have a hard time keeping up." The man laughed quietly at his little joke and continued to drink his coffee.

"Hey, Rick, you as excited as I am?" said Kate from across that table. "I can't wait to go to Ollivander's. I wonder what mine will be like."

"Wonder what your _what _will be like?" asked Rick in earnest.

"Oh, I forgot you don't know who Ollivander is. He's the best wand maker out there. Surely you knew that you had to get a wand."

Sure enough a wand had been on his school supply list but he hadn't really thought about it too much. He thought all wands were pretty much the same. It hadn't occurred to him that wands had variable characteristics.

"Any way we'll be going there today. You can get your wand then too. Mom says that you don't choose a wand, it chooses you. Isn't that right, Mom?"

"Sure is sweetheart" Johanna replied. "Rick you appear to be done eating, shall we head out everyone?"

"Yes, I daresay we should." Martha agreed.

"Alright, so how do we get there?"

"I'm so glad you asked Rick," Kate responded with a devilish grin on her face.

Rick just closed his mouth and starred at her, wondering why she could be so amused by this. He just followed the rest of them out the back door of the pub which led into a small alleyway backed by a solid brick wall. Rick peered up and down the alley, honestly a bit confused. Kate was excited about this? Then suddenly Mrs. Beckett stepped up to the brick wall pulled her wand out and stared tapping a pattern out on the bricks. For a second nothing happened. Then a few of the bricks stared to sink back into the wall and others began twisting in a pattern that appeared practiced. Rick watched in awe at what he was seeing. The wall had, in a few short moments, shifted apart and opened up into a busy alley filled with shops and people.

"Welcome everyone, to Diagon Alley." Johanna said with a small proud smile.

There was something very historical and old fashioned about the place and Rick couldn't help but marvel as he looked up at all the store windows and the people walking by in clothing he was terribly unfamiliar with. He saw a few owls fly over head and suddenly remembered the owl that had delivered his letter. He had heard Mrs. Beckett mention that many people in the wizarding world kept them as pets to carry their mail and thought it might be pretty cool to have one of his own.

"Richard, can you come back to Earth please," said Martha waving a hand in front of her son's face. Rick hadn't noticed that he was zoning out. "We have to go over to Gringotts to exchange our money for Wizard coins. Otherwise we won't be able to get you any school supplies."

They continued down to the end of the crowded street, weaving in and out of witches and wizards going this way and that, finally coming to a large white building that appeared to build in a crooked fashion. On the front in bold letters read: Gringotts. 'This must be the place.' thought Rick as the five of them walked through the tall white marble columns just outside the door. As soon as they walked through the door they were greeted by, sure enough, a small rather ugly creature with pointy ears, glasses, and almost no hair. 'Goblin,' Rick smiled and continued to look down at the strange being.

"Hello," said the goblin, "Can I offer you folks some assistance."

"Yes, we need to make a withdrawal from my vault and exchange some Muggle money." Johanna said politely.

The goblin looked up at them with understanding and said, "follow me".

He led them down a long aisle in the magnificent lobby that was filled with other goblins working behind high desks. He finally stopped at the end of the counter and stepped to what must have been his station. "Name?" he asked.

"Johanna Beckett,"

"Ah here we are," he said looking through a ledger and finding the name. "Do you have your key?"

"Of course" Johanna reached into her pocket a produced an ornate bronze key with the number 1200 on its front and back.

"Thank you, come this way"

The goblin directed them down a corridor to a small platform. Sitting there was cart not quite large enough to fit all five of them plus the goblin so there pulled up a second cart right behind the first one. Rick wasn't sure what to make of this, but like many things in this world he assumed he was going to have to just go with it. After being told to get in the Becketts climbed into the first cart while Rick and Martha took the second one with the goblin. It was at this moment Rick decided to get bold.

"Excuse me, what's your name?" he asked to creature.

"Griphook," he replied without really looking back at Rick.

Suddenly the carts began to move down the dark tracks that Rick was completely oblivious as to where they led. I t must have been magic that pulled the carts along. Rick noticed when Kate looked back at him for a fleeting moment and he smiled to himself. The carts led them down into a cavern, twisting and curving along the tracks through the tunnel. Unfortunately they were also traveling at a speed that made it impossible to look around at one's surroundings. They finally stopped abruptly at a spot lit by a bright torch hanging against the wall.

"Key please," said Griphook to Mrs. Beckett and she handed over the small key to him.

With a click the door to the vault unlocked and the door creaked open. Inside Rick could a several stacks of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Baffled, he was about to ask about the money when Kate nudged him.

"That's what wizard money looks like." She informed him, "the gold ones are called galleons, the silver ones are sickles and the bronze ones are knuts."

"How do you do that?" Rick asked with a tone of irritation and surprise.

"Do what?"

"Manage to know what I'm thinking and answer my questions before I ask them."

Kate smiled devilishly, "your face gave you away".

Rick's jaw lay slack at this comment but he quickly shut it and tried to fix his expression from befuddled to bored though he truly did want to know more. He didn't want to give Kate the satisfaction of knowing that she knew so much more that he did.

Then he saw Mrs. Beckett reach down reach into the vault and extract a pile of coins, putting them into a small brown pouch. The next thing he knew they were heading back toward the lobby.

"Ugh," said Martha as they all stepped out of the carts, "I do believe I may be sick."

"Yeah, Mom you're starting to turn green."

Luckily after a few moments and some very deep breaths his mother's nausea subsided and Rick was able to relax. Johanna helped them determine how much money to exchange to take Rick school shopping and Griphook handed over a brown pouch very much like the one Johanna had. It was full of wizard money that Rick was all too eager to examine more closely.

Kate was beginning to look almost bored. She stood by her father who just smiled as if knowing that they would be moving on soon and was trying to reassure the kids that it wouldn't be long now.

"Alright, looks like we're all set," Martha said to the two eleven-year-olds. "Ready to go get your wands?"

"You bet I am," Kate grinned from ear to ear. "I've been waiting so long for this day."

"Yeah, I guess so." Rick said to the group as they walked out into the marble steps leading out of Gringotts.

The group made their way back through the throng of people to a tiny shop on the left side of the street. The sign above the door had been carved into the building and read: Ollivander's.

A shiver ran up Rick's spine as he walked in the front door and heard the small bell ring upon their entrance. It wasn't a bad shiver, but it left him feeling nervous and excited at the same time. Anticipation was surely a cruel injustice. He found himself wondering what would be involved in finding him a wand.

Rick looked around the tiny shop and saw a tall old man with wild white hair standing behind the front counter. "Well hello there," the man said to the group. Mr. Beckett nodded a silent hello to the man and Kate just beamed with glee.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Ollivander," Rick inquired.

"Why yes I am young man. Am I right in assuming that you are in here looking for your first wand?"

"Yes, me and Kate here," Rick threw a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the girl standing closely behind him.

"And these must be your parents."

He shook hands with Martha. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am. I don't believe I have ever seen you in my shop before. I remember every wand I have ever sold."

Martha smiled shyly, "Well you wouldn't, I'm a muggle you see. My son Richard here is starting Hogwarts next week. His father was a wizard."

"Well, I'm not one to judge. Every person that wishes to purchase a wand from me is welcome in my shop."

He then turned to the Becketts and upon looking directly at Johanna, there seemed to be twinkle of recognition in the man's eyes.

"Johanna. Birch, dragon heartstring, 10 and ½ inches." Mr. Ollivander recalled.

"Yes! That's amazing."

"Like I said, I remember every wand I've ever sold. Now, who this enchanting young lady?" looking down at Kate's small form.

"This is my daughter, Kate. And this is my husband Jim."

"Lovely to meet you all," Mr. Ollivander turned around promptly and headed for the shelves behind him lined from top to bottom with long, narrow boxes and started pulling a few from the shelves. "Let's see here. Ah."

The man gave his own wand a wave and a flexible tape measure flew through the air toward the group. With another flick of his wand the enchanted object began measuring every angle of Rick's body. Rick's reaction brought on giggles from Kate until the tape measure moved on to her and she immediately stopped her compulsive laughter.

Mr. Ollivander turned back to Rick pulling a wand out of one of the boxes and handing it to him. Rick, taking the wand in hand got a weird chill go down his spine as the wand slipped into his hand. In the back of his mind he knew that he really was a wizard and this really was a wand but his rational brain kept trying to tell that this was just a piece of wood. 'Screw that' he thought, 'I finally have my hands on a real magic wand'.

"Well, give it a wave." Mr. Ollivander said.

Rick look around momentarily then gripped the wand a little tighter and give it a little swish. The lights flickered and a few pieces of parchment that had been sitting on the desk hovered slightly and dropped to the floor.

"Cool. That's the first bit of magic I've ever done…well, knowingly."

"Interesting" said the wand maker with a look of approval. "We shall see. Kate, why don't you try this one," he handed Kate a different wand.

Rick watched intently as took the wand in hand, suddenly looking very nervous. Her parents looked at her expectantly. She gave the wand flick and blue sparks flew out of the end. Kate jumped back quickly out of surprise. Everyone except Mr. Ollivander flinched slightly at this.

The old man looked at the two kids thoughtfully and finally said, "Switch"

"What?" Rick and Kate said together.

"Switch" he repeated, "the wands switch them."

The two looked at each other and then reached out their hands, trading the wands they were wielding.

"As soon as the two wands changed hands a surge of energy passed between the two and then silence. Everyone held their breath for a moment and then with a shout Mr. Ollivander spoke, "I think we have it." His tone quieted, "Mr. Castle your wand is 11 ¼ inches, made from the Cherry tree, the core is the most interesting part. It is actually one I have only ever made two other wands from. This wand has the tail feather of a great horned owl. Now, in the wizarding world we generally only use owls to carry the post but a few owls in history have proven to have magical power bestowed upon them. I was fortunate in my youth to come across one of these owls in my search for wand making materials. I normally only use unicorn hair, phoenix feathers, and dragon heartstring in my wands so you can see why this particular wand would be unique. Mr. Castle," Rick had been looking at the wise looking man the entire time, "the wand chooses the wizard. I do believe this wand has chosen you." Mr. Ollivander smiled and then turned to Kate. "Ms. Beckett, you wand, is 10 ¼ inches, Ash, with a core of unicorn hair."

Kate beamed and looked down at her brand new wand and Rick realized at that moment that he and Kate might actually have something in common. 'Wow what a concept?'

**Hazzaaa! Finally this chapter is done. Took forever but I finally got it finished. Yay! Reviews would really be helpful you guys. I want desperately to know what you think. Yes I know that Owl feathers aren't typically used in Ollivander's wands I just really wanted Castle's wand to be significant to his character and it's the only thing that I thought really fit him. Let's see who can guess why the cherry wood wand is important. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Finally have some time to write, work has been crazy this summer. Thanks to those who have been following and reviewing. Also thank you for your patience, I know this chapter has taken a while. Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Castle. They belong to J.K. Rowling and ABC respectively. _

Chapter 5:

The kids thanked Mr. Ollivander and left the shop. Rick's head was swimming with thoughts about the wand that had just "chosen him" (as they said). There was definitely some kind of connection between his and Kate's wand, all be it weird. But what really was normal anymore? Rick new that the adults expected him and Kate to become friends, but he wasn't so sure that he wanted to keep up a friendship with someone who barely bothered to acknowledge his existence. On the other hand she was starting to grow on him, much like an ugly wart that was impossible to remove. Rick, however had enough good sense to keep this last thought to himself.

They stop for ice cream at Florean Fortescue's. Rick thought it oddly mundane to find an ice cream parlor in a place like Diagon Alley but he wasn't about to complain. He loved ice cream no matter where it came from. He decided to order himself a flavor called Exploding Chocolate Snap. It had rich chocolate swirls and bits of chocolate that when bitten in to resembled the sensation of Pop Rocks snapping on one's tongue. Rick would later learn that flavor's name was a clever play on words that partnered with a wizarding game popular among Hogwarts students.

Through the rest of the afternoon Rick caught Kate staring at her wand from time to time. She seemed almost mesmerized by this slender piece on wood held between her fingers and he found himself wondering if maybe his lack of such keen interest was a bad thing. After walking around for a little bit longer they all headed back to the Leaky Cauldron for a hot meal.

Dinner was great and no sooner had they Rick finished his stew than he and Kate were being sent off to bed. Rick lead their way up the stairs to the room he and Kate were sharing and went to his trunk to grab his pajama bottoms while Kate slipped into the bathroom. After folding up his jeans and leaving his sneakers near the foot of his bed on the floor, he grabbed his book to do a little reading before bed. Shortly after he was settled in with the Sherlock Holmes adventure.

"Good book?" he heard Kate ask after she had come out of the bathroom and pulling back her covers and crawling into bed.

Slightly surprised, all he could do was look up and nod. Rick sunk farther into his bed, settling back into the story. He didn't even notice when Kate blew out the candle on her bedside table and he just barely heard a mumbled "night" from her side of the room.

Rick must have fallen asleep reading last night because his book lay beside him on the bed, open to a random page and the candle beside the bed must have burnt itself out during the early hours of the morning. He looked around trying shake the sleep from his eyes but as he looked up he saw a blurry shadow hovering over his head. As the shape came into focus he saw it was an owl and then he saw what the creature had in its beak. A mouse! It wasn't that the thing was mouse but that it was dead that bothered Rick and for reasons he can't explain he let out an obnoxiously embarrassing, ear piercing scream which woke Kate out of a dead sleep. Rick had, in a way, scared himself by screaming in such a way and was frozen in his current position. The feathery creature flapped its wings and hooted in annoyance at the sudden raucous. Kate came over to the bed and held an arm out to the owl, who graciously accepted it.

"Moring Rick!" She was setting the owl down on her trunk when Rick sat up, looking at her expectantly for an explanation.

"Er. What…who is that?" Rick asked.

Kate turned and smiled at him. "This is Bertie, spelled B-E-R-T-I-E." She explained, "I got her in New York and had to smuggle her into the country."

_That's great. Just one more thing she_ 'neglected' _to tell me about._ Rick just rolled his eyes and flopped back into bed in an attempt to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes and pulled his blanket over his head, trying to block out the early morning sun. After a few minutes he was able to drift back to dream land but was pulled out for to quickly for his liking by his mother beckoning for him to "get his lazy butt out of bed".

Rick never really had a problem with getting up early he just liked to put on a front as if it annoyed the heck out of him. He also planned on playing up this point a bit by going down to breakfast in his pajamas and shooting Kate a death glare. After the events of earlier this morning he thought it seemed fitting to make her feel guilty. And that is precisely what he did when he went downstairs to eat. As he came down the stairs he noticed a young woman with bright pink hair sitting and talking to Johanna and Kate. Rick thought he heard her name mentioned, Nymphadora Tonks.

Rick sat down at the table with a slight thud when he landed in his chair next to Kate, throwing his head into his crossed arms on the table. He felt his mother's bright, chipper, early morning vibe reverberating off the walls as she made way down the stairs for breakfast. It seemed that Kate and Martha were riding the same wave of happiness this morning because Kate then said, "Morning!" to Rick in a tone that was challenging him to lose his cool, even if he was just _pretending_ to be angry at her.

So he glared up at the brunette, grumbled nonsense words at her and slumped his head back down.

"Rick, that's not polite," He heard is mom scold him as she sat down next to him. "Please make sense next time you are talking." Rick looked up, giving his mother the same look he gave Kate but doing it in complete earnest.

After a moment, Rick brought his head back up and made an attempt at the food that had been placed in front of him with him barely noticing. He was picking at some scrambled eggs when he heard Kate talking to him.

"Today we're going to get books and potion ingredients! Aren't you excited?" At the mention of books his face turned in her direction. She had his complete attention and he had completely forgotten that he was pretending to be mad at her.

"Really?" he asked in awe. Before she could give her answer Tom had placed her breakfast down in front of her. After that they were both too immersed in their breakfast to talk. His mouth may have been full but his eyes were still capable of taking in everything around him and they noticed the strange paper that Mrs. Beckett had been reading. _The Daily Prophet_, from a distance looked like a normal paper but up close one could see that the pictures moved. Rick, being from the Muggle world, knew about movies and television, but had never seen the moving pictures in a newspaper and thought it was very strange. He stared at the Goblins milling around outside a bank vault at Gringotts and suddenly found himself saying out loud, "The pictures are moving!"

Kate turned to him with an amused expression and her mother replied, "Yes, Rick, they do move. All of the pictures in this world move, its part on the 'magic'," with a contented smile on her face. Rick didn't reply but just continued to stare at the picture and then finished eating his breakfast.

Once he and Kate were both done eating Rick ran upstairs quickly to change out of his Pj's and ran back down. The group (including Tonks) headed to the back of the pub and toward the portal that lead to Diagon Alley. Rick noticed that Kate had a look on her face that looked as if she was trying to hide something though he didn't possibly know what.

As they walked through Diagon Alley rick took notice of a few more things that he had passed by the day before, paying special attention to a shop window that held in the coolest looking broomstick Rick could possibly imagine. There was gold lettering on the handle that read "Nimbus 2000".

_Ok, I'm not sure what that's for exactly but that does look pretty awesome._

He was brought out off from his daydreaming about flying by Tonks, who was talking to both him and Kate.

"So are you excited about Hogwarts?"

"Yea!" Kate said, "I've been waiting for my letter ever since I can remember."

Rick was not at all surprised by the question and answered with a giant smile, "Sure am. I never knew about this world, so the letter was a surprise, but I sure am excited now."

Just then they stopped in front of the book store. "Well this is where I leave you guys," said Tonks. "I have to go over to Gringotts, then I'm due at the Ministry." She explained with a pained expression on her face. She then gave both Johanna and Martha a hug and shook hands with Jim. Finally turning back to Rick and Kate she said, "Good luck at Hogwarts. Don't get into too much trouble." She smiled and winked, turning to go, walking off toward the bank.

The sign above the door of the shop read "Flourish and Blotts" and walking in Rick could see the store itself was huge. The place had two floors and more books than Castle had ever seen. He wandered away from the group finding a nook between the shelves in which to wedge himself. He scanned the rows of books until something caught his eye. "One Vampire, One Werewolf, and One Dead Guy" he brought it off the shelf and skimmed through the summary on the back._ Wow an actual mystery novel in a wizarding book shop._ Rick was pleasantly surprised. He opened to the first page and started in on it, sitting there for a few minutes, losing track of the time. The next time he looked back up his mother was holding a handful of books and was summoning him to come back to her.

"What? I just found a wizarding mystery book. Can't we wait?" Rick was slightly disappointed because he knew that the book would not be coming with him that day.

"Sorry Ricky," his mom said. "But we have a full day ahead of us. Next we're heading over to get potions ingredients and after lunch we're going to get school robes for you two."

Rick's face was downcast and he was disappointed but pushed to thought aside as they came upon another shop. This one had a large jar in the front window full of what looked like giant worms but on closer examination, Rick could see they were actually snakes. _Cool. This place ought to be interesting. _ The inside had a dang musty smell to it put seemed well enough put together. The shelves that lined to walls on all sides held jars of all shapes and sizes that contained a great number of different things.

A man appeared out of the back room. He was hunched over, balding at the top of his head but lower down had long black hair that reached his elbows. He had a grubby appearance to him, at least that the way it looked by the state of his robes.

The man spoke with a dull monotone. "May I help you?" No one spoke at first then Rick was surprised to hear the voice of Mr. Beckett.

"Erm, yes. We need two beginner potions kits. These two youngsters are just starting their first years." His voice wavered slightly but seemed to be in control. Rick thought that perhaps talking to this strange man made Jim nervous.

The shopkeeper (whose name they never did find out) glanced down at the kids. "Ah, yes. New Hogwarts students." When he smiled suddenly at them rather toothlessly Rick was officially creeped out and hoped they wouldn't have to stay there too much longer. He lazily made his way toward a shelf and pulled down a pair of matching boxes then returned to the counter. The man was again staring at the kids but spoke ot the adults in the room when he quietly said, "Two Galleons, 5 sickles. Each." Finally he took his gaze off Rick and Kate.

"Right" Jim replied and pulled the money out of the pouch. Martha then stepped up to the counter and paid for Rick's potion kit as well.

"Thank you very much." The shop keeper said in further hushed tone. With not another word, the group left the store.

The five of them went to the Leaky for lunch, during which Johanna announced that they were ahead of schedule and would be able to go get robes that afternoon. Both Rick and Kate, as it turns out, hated shopping for clothes and they were both determined to not enjoy this experience.

When they reached the shop Rick spotted that the sign above the door said _Madame Malkin's Robes for Occasions_. As they five of them entered the shop none of them could help but notice that there was a group of red-headed children leaving being corralled by a rather loud, stout woman who appeared to be their mother. "Alrght, Weasleys," the woman said with the most authoritative voice Rick had ever heard, "You all know the drill, it's time to get a move on. I need to get home and get supper ready."

Rick soon forgot about the red- headed gaggle as they stood in a brightly lit room with more yards of fabric than he had ever seen, and his mother had once taken him backstage into the costume room of one of the shows she was performing in, talk about torture.

Just then there was a woman's voice coming from behind a working bench, she seemed to have popped up out of nowhere. "New Hogwarts students I suppose?" Madame Malkin smiled at them affectionately and continued with her greeting. "Hand-me downs or new?" she asked glancing at the adults, expectantly.

"New please," Martha answered for everyone, having talked it over before coming here. Ricked smiled just a little when heard a small groan come from Kate and She was soon shooed away by her mother and brought into the back room to be fitted. Rick was soon attended to by a shop hand that got him set up with a set of school uniforms which included robes, pants, shirts, sweaters, and a hat. The young man that was helping him, named Timothy, mentioned that he had been in Ravenclaw house while he was at Hogwarts and had been taken on as an apprentice by Madame Malkin because he had a knack for fashion and she thought he could be rather useful. So far Rick had to admit that Timothy was proving himself to be so.

Kate finally returned and Johanna looked back and forth between her daughter and Rick and said, "Ready?"

"Yep" Kate replied looking a bit irritated but content.

"Yeah, I'm done Mrs. Beckett." said Rick, happy to be leaving.

"Good let's get back to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner then."

The rest of the night turned out to be rather uneventful. After dinner Rick and Kate both headed up to bed, rick taking the time to read a bit before heading going to sleep. Reflecting on the day they had and wondering if he would see the Weasley family at Hogwarts perhaps. Any family with that many kids has to be fun. Rick did find it lonely at times being an only child. The thought made him think about the young girl in the next bed over and wonder if this is what it might be like to have sister.

**A/N: Oh my gosh! Finally finished that chapter. Sorry it took me so long. Hoping the next chapter will be a bit more interesting. Thanks for being patient with me. As always reviews are appreciated but not required. **


	6. Chapter 6

**So for those of you that have been chomping at the bit to see Rick and Kate in Hogwarts your wait is over. Thank you all for you kind following and reviews, it has helped tremendously. My heart goes out to you. **

**As always, I don't own anything here except for the plot. **

Chapter 6: The Journey to Hogwarts

"Platform 9 ¾? Ok, now you're just making stuff up." Rick huffed at Kate when they reached the train station and loaded they're trunks onto the trolleys.

"I'm not lying. It says so right on your train ticket. Look." Kate pointed out holding up her own gold trimmed ticket and pointing to the black lettering.

Rick simply starred at her open mouthed, knowing that he had to go with her on this. He looked around the train station trying to find a hint of platform 9 ¾ but saw only platforms 9 and 10 with nothing but tall brick pillars between them.

"Rick I don't know why you continue to question me constantly," inquired Kate, "you accept the fact that you're a wizard but you refuse to believe most of what I try to tell you about the wizarding world. I'm doing you a favor so you don't come off as a complete idiot when we get to Hogwarts and you just don't seem to appreciate it."

"You're right. I'm sorry. All of this you've been telling me has been very helpful."

"Thank you."

Mrs. Beckett noticed that the kids had stopped arguing and chose that moment to start in on them about getting to the train.

"Alright kids, here's how this is going to work. Rick I know this is new for you so I'll explain it for you. You see that brick pillar right in front you?" She indicated to the wall in front of them. Rick nodded. "All you have to do is walk straight through it. Before you say anything I know what you are thinking. 'How does one get through a solid brick wall' right? Well remember the back alley of The Leaky Cauldron that opened up to Diagon Alley?"

"Yes."

"It's just like that. But, instead of the wall moving, you are just going to be moving through the wall. It will take you straight through to platform 9¾. Understand?" Again Rick just nodded. "You understand all of this too, right Katie?"

"Yes Mom."

"Alright. Kate, sweetie, why don't you go first? The rest of us will meet you on the other side."

"Ok." said Kate in voice that suggested she was just a bit nervous as this was her first time to Hogwarts as well. "See I told you so," this last bit was in a voice only Rick could hear as she passed by him briefly.

Rick watched intently as Kate lined herself up with the wall, squared her shoulders, and looking just bit less nervous than he felt headed straight for the wall with her trunk and owl cage laden cart ahead of her. Then just as soon as Rick thought she was going to collide with the pillar she vanished into it.

Rick couldn't help but stare blankly for just a moment wondering what exactly was on the other side of the barrier.

"See Rick nothing to it." Said Mrs. Beckett

"You know Rick this will be the first time either I or you mother will be going to through the barrier as well." This time it was Mr. Beckett that spoke. He was a man of few words but when he did talk, he spoke with such calm confidence and wisdom that it made Rick want to trust the older man fully, even though they had only met just a week ago.

Rick smiled at Mr. Beckett then looked to his mother.

"I have to go through with you in order to get on to the platform," said Martha, "Right Johanna?"

"Yes, you'll need to hold on to him as you two go through the barrier."

Martha looked back at her son and said, "Ready?"

"Well we've come this far," Said Rick, "Seems silly to turn back now."

They lined up with barrier and taking it at a bit of a run Rick and his mother, who had a firm grasp on her son's shoulder, headed for the bricks in front of them. A small part of Rick still believed, even though he had seen Kate go through just a minute ago, that he was going to hit the wall and not make it through. However Rick had shut his eyes for a just a second in the course of his push through the barrier and ended up on the other side.

When everything came back into focus for him he was able to see the gleaming red of what had to be none other than the Hogwarts Express. Not only could he see the slight smoke rolling out of the top of the great steam engine but when he looked to his right he saw Kate standing there waiting for them and smiling as she saw them come through. He also took a moment to take in all the people walking around him. 'I had no idea there would be this many people. And the only person I know is Kate.'

"Hey," she said to them, "I see you made it through in one piece."

"Disappointed are you?" Rick responded.

Kate just rolled her eyes as Martha spoke up. "Well then wasn't anywhere near as weird as the trip through the underground caverns of Gringotts. I hardly felt a thing." They moved away from the pillar and off to the side to stand with Kate and wait.

Not 30 seconds later Mr. and Mrs. Beckett came through hand in hand.

"Everyone here?" asked Jim.

"All present and accounted for." said Martha.

"Well then let's get going." Said Kate,"We still need to get our stuff on the train."

Johanna smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm. "Fine, impatient one. Let's find you two some seats."

They took their things and loaded them on to the train finding a compartment about half way down that just happened to be empty.

They all stepped off the train and back onto the platform to say their goodbyes. Rick's mom pulled him off to one side while the Becketts said good bye to Kate.

"Richard darling, I love you so much. Study hard and please _try_ to stay out of trouble." Martha had a tear running down her face at this point.

"No promises, but I'll certainly try Mom. I love you too. Please don't cry, then you're going to get me cryin' and I will just never want to go." There was a slight tone of mocking in his voice as he said this last part but she knew her son well enough to know it was just his way.

"But seriously, Mom I will miss you."

"Write to me. Put _that _skill of yours to good use. I want to hear all about it."

"Ok."

Rick gave his mother on final hug and headed back for the train with a wave. Climbing back up into the train and trying hard not to look back.

When Rick found his compartment again he loaded his things up into the over head storage racks and sat down just in time to see Kate giving her father one last hug good bye then make her way towards the train. A pinch o jealousy hit him as he began to realize that only reason he was here right now was because of his father and he had never even met the man. While Kate still had both of her parents.

Rick pushed the thought from his mind as Bertie hooted upon Kate's arrival in the compartment. He also noticed the many other students passing by their compartment shouting for their friends, reuniting after a summer apart.

Kate took a spot in the seat right across from him and neither could help but smile a bit.

"I can't believe this is finally happening" said Kate who was now grinning from ear to ear.

"I know, a month ago I never believed any of this existed." agreed Rick.

There were now only three minutes until the train was scheduled to leave the station. Rick watched out the window for a moment to see all the other students that were lingering on the platform, parents waving goodbye, and younger children trying to get away from their parents to follow their older siblings onto the train.

The whistle blared and the train slowly began to pull out of the station, gradually picking up speed. The two of them enjoyed the ride out of the city and into the quiet country side in comfortable silence for about a half hour.

Just then there was a bustling of people out in the corridor. He and Kate both jumped up to take a look. A fight had broken out between two boys who looked to be about Rick's age.

"Hey, get off me." A small brown haired boy yelled at a slightly taller boy, who appeared to be Hispanic and had him in headlock.

"Take it back", said the bigger one.

"Take… what back?" the smaller boy gasped.

"Take back what you said about me being a…Mudblood."

Rick couldn't believe his luck, 'a fight braking out on the first day right in front of our compartment. This is great'. He was content to stand there and see how this one played out. Kate looked less than pleased and about ready to break it up herself, given the right moment.

Before they had a chance to see the rest of their fight an older student with red hair came stalking their way and did his best to pull the boys apart. The one being held fell to the floor and the other one was still being held up by the older boy.

"Man, what are you doin'? You know what he called me?" the Latino boy demanded from the kid in glasses restraining him.

"I understand what happened and I'm not happy with him either. I'm Percy Weasley, I happen to be a school prefect and fighting is not allowed on this train, magic or otherwise. So just who are you, you're getting written up since you're a first year and don't have a house assignment yet I can't dock points yet."

"Javier Espisito." He said looking disgruntled. Percy just nodded letting him go.

"And you are you alright?" Percy huffed at the other boy who was rubbing his neck. He just nodded his head and responded with a brief, "Yeah I suppose so".

"What's your name? I need to write you up too, as you started the fight."

He was shot a dirty look from Javier and said, "Kevin Ryan".

"Alright, the rest of you, move along, nothing more to see here. Come on." Directed Percy, whom Rick, recognized from the time he saw the Weasley's outside Madame Malkin's.

Rick watched as the crowd dissipated and Kevin and Javier separated going in opposite directions. Thinking fast Rick reached out for Kevin, beckoning him into their compartment.

"Hey, come sit with us." Rick looked over at Kate as if looking for assurance that this was ok and she said "yeah sure join us. Anyone who starts a fight to cover up insecurity is welcome here." Rick and Kevin could both hear the sarcasm in her but ignored it.

"It's ok," said Rick, "she's always like that."

Kevin smiled and introduced himself.

"Yeah we, um, we know. We saw you get yelled at by Sir Dork-a-lot out there".

"Rick, that's not nice and you're one to talk. He's a prefect. That means he can put you in detention and probably will if he hears you call him that." said Kate, pointing a finger out to make her point more clear then looked at Kevin. "I'm Kate Beckett, that's Rick Castle. We're both first years as well."

"It's really nice of you guys to let me sit with you," said Kevin. But just then Kate started in on him.

"Do you know the meaning of the term you used? It's foul and cruel. Of course, you would know that if you had any sense of respect for your fellow wizard, which, clearly you don't. Rick you keep that in mind too, I'm not scolding you I'm just telling you in advance you don't want to go around using language like that."

Kevin just sat there looking slightly ashamed of himself but not enough to convince Kate that he was sorry for what he said.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Said Rick "So what's the deal with you and macho man back there?"

"We grew up down the road from each other. We never got along. I didn't realize he was a wizard until I saw him on the platform this morning. All his family are muggles and he was never nice to me. Called me a freak because he accidently saw me do magic once when I was mad at him and I couldn't defend myself because of the law against exposing magic to muggles."

"So, you don't have good history then?" Kate eyed Kevin as if looking for a sign that his story wasn't over.

"You could put it that way."

"So, you hate him because he made fun of you when you were younger?" asked Rick. To him this didn't seem like a good enough reason to hate someone. "That makes perfect sense."

"Sounds like maybe you need to think that one through, Ryan" Kate arched her right eyebrow as she spoke that last syllable. "We're all going to be at school together for the next seven years. We may as well learn to like one another." She glanced over at Rick. "Who knows? Maybe we could even be friends."

Rick smirked, catching her meaning. She wasn't just talking to Kevin. Kate was truly extending her hand of genuine friendship to Rick as well, for the first time since they had met. Rick thought for a moment. Did he want to be Kate's friend? Yes, yes he did.

"What if I don't want to be his friend?" asked Kevin, rather defensively.

Rick decided it was his turn to say something…he wasn't about to let Kate have all the fun.

"Then I guess that's your problem. But from what I just saw out there you probably should not pick another fight with him if you want to live through the year."

"Ptfff," was the only sound out of Kevin's mouth added to an eye roll.

"I hate to admit it but Rick is right." said Kate. Rick tried to suppress a grin in front of Kevin.

"Hey, that's it. I'm out of here. Thanks for your _fantastic _advice, but I think you should stay out of my business. I can take care of myself." And with that he hopped up and left, slamming the compartment door behind him. Kate and Rick sat quietly in the compartment for a few long moments after Kevin left, both of them eat a loss for words.

"Great, our first day and already we're making friends." said Rick desperately trying to break the tension.

"There's something he's not telling us. I can feel it and I could see it in his face. He's hiding something. I guess he's right though; it's none of our business. "

"Kate, we were just trying to help. Right?"

"Well I would think so. Kevin probably just thought we were being nosey."

"I guess we're just going to wait and see what happens."

"I guess so."

The two of them sat for the rest of the journey in comfortable silence most of the way. Rick even closed his eyes and tried to take a nap but found the shaking motion of the train made sleep difficult for him. From time to time they would hear people in the hallway talking and a kid named Harry Potter was mentioned several times. From what he heard it sounded mostly like gossip and Rick didn't concern himself with it much, but there was a nagging feeling in him telling that this Harry guy was important though he wasn't sure why. He made a mental note to ask Kate later if she knew anything about it. He looked across the way at Kate, who was flipping through one of the spell books she had pulled out of her trunk. He studied her expression for a moment as she read.

"Kate?"

"Hmmm," Kate looked up at his suddenly.

"So… are we friends now? You and me?" Rick had thought that this question could most likely go without being asked but he felt the need to ask it anyway.

Kate just stared at him with a quizzical expression. "Do you want us to be friends, Rick?"

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Even if we end up in different houses at Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then I guess we're gonna be friends then." said Kate grinning. Rick also smiled at her words.

"So does this mean you're going to stop being annoying?" Kate _had_ to ask.

"When have I been annoying?" Rick said in a mocking tone. Kate just cocked her eyebrow at him the same way she had with Ryan earlier and Rick replied with smile, "Not a chance."

By that time, the train was beginning to slow and made its way into Hogsmead Station. The two of them gathered their things and prepared to get off the train with everyone else.

When the train finally came to a stop they grabbed up their belongings and stepped off the train; Rick doing so rather clumsily and almost tripping over his trunk. They were told to leave their luggage at the station as it would be taken up to the school separately. Rick then turned around to a booming voice and bright light in his eyes.

"Firs' years this way. Firs' years follow me."

Rick didn't know what to make of this giant of a man coming towards them, beckoning. But then Kate nudged him in the arm and nodded in the direction of the rather hairy man indicating that they should get moving and follow him.

"Firs' years, this way to the boats. Follow me you lot."

They made it to the boats he was talking about and the vast, dark lake.

'Creepy,' Rick thought taking a deep breath, getting into the boat as instructed. He and Kate shared a boat with the Espisito kid from the train and a dark skinned girl with bright eyes. In the boat directly ahead of them was a boy with messy black hair and glasses sitting next to him was another boy with freckly skin and bright red hair. These two were sharing the boat with a girl with bushy, brown hair and a small pudgy boy who looked rather nervous.

There was no need to row the boats as they moved on their own, magically.

Rick looked around and saw Kevin Ryan in a boat with a pale skinned, blonde boy who looked to be barricading himself between two, slightly larger friends of his.

As the boats moved across the lake Rick found himself no longer looking at the people around him, but at the brightly lit form of Hogwarts Castle ahead of them. Kate told him it was supposed to be huge but nothing prepared him for what he was actually seeing. It was magnificent. Rick found it hard to believe this was actually supposed to be a school.

"Wow."

"I know isn't it great?" asked Kate who had been sitting to his left.

"It's fantastic." he replied. "Better than I pictured."

They came to a stop at small boat house and the large man told them to come on out of the boats and follow him up to the school for the Sorting.

So that's just what they did.

They finally found their way up to the Entrance Hall after walking through perhaps the biggest set of front doors Rick had ever seen.

There they were greeted by an elderly witch in dark green robes and matching hat. She had a stern expression and reeked of authority. Rick's instincts told him it wasn't wise to cross her.

She simply looked down at the group of first years gathered in front of her and said "Welcome to Hogwarts."

**A/N: Well that seems like as good a place as any to stop. Hope you are enjoying it so far. I know this was a long chapter. You're welcome. It wore me out. I'm looking forward to more and hope you are too. If you do review I appreciate anything you have to say, just please be nice about it. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yay, finally a new chapter. I've been missing this story and finally had some free time to focus. Sorry it took so long I will try to be quicker with the next one. As always reviews are appreciated. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Castle. Yes parts of this chapter you will probably recognize because they are taken directly from the book. Those lines belong to the ever fabulous J.K. Rowling. **

Chapter 7

The kids, after being ushered in to a small room, gathered around Professor McGonagall.

"The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses," said the witch.

Rick was hanging on her every word. The Hogwarts houses were supposed to be a big deal but he didn't know much about them. He wondered which he would be in. What would happen if he and Kate ended up in different houses? She was the only person he knew… but surely he would be able to make friends on his own, after all, he had been able to befriend the ice queen and thaw out her heart. 'Speak of the devil' he thought as he caught Kate glancing back at him but pretended not to notice.

The tall witch before them continued to speak. "The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points."

'Well, then I'm screwed.' Rick thought to himself.

"At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her view swept over the group of scared looking students before her.

Rick didn't know what he could possibly do to 'smarten himself up' while he was waiting here. He happened to think he was a pretty smart kid already but then again, he has never gone to a wizarding school before.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said the older witch. "Please wait quietly."

Rick grinned at Kate who was returning the same look to him.

"What house do you think you're going to be in?" Kate asked Rick.

Rick sheepishly looked down, shuffling his feet. "I don't know much about the houses." Finally he looked up his friend, deciding to go with the self pitying response, "I'll probably be in the worst house." Rick wasn't confident in what his answer meant but he was hoping Kate wouldn't agree with him in any case. Then he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure you're going to be in a great house. Any house that gets you is going to be getting the best guy I know…" Rick's heart nearly skipped a beat at her words. Was Kate being sweet? "…and the most annoying. They won't know what to do with you." Ah, there was the Kate he knew. He had a feeling her compliments came at a price.

Just then Rick heard a few gasps from the other students around him and looked around, noticing the pearly white figures floating above him. Ghosts! _No way, Ghostbusters, eat your heart out. This is awesome_, thought Rick.Twenty or so of them glided passed them, paying them almost no attention. Two of the ghosts appeared to be arguing but stopped when they noticed the kids below them. One was dressed as a monk and the other looked like he belonged in Elizabethan England. _Well, _Rick thought,_ right country, wrong century. _

His humorous train of thought was short lived as he felt a sharp pressure on his foot. "AH," he gasped at the slight pain Kate was inflicting with her heel. He was relieved to see she looked just as surprised at her action as he was. At least she hadn't done that on purpose.

"New students!" the monk ghost exclaimed. He looked around at all the students. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"

Rick's mouth dropped open, it was one thing to see a ghost for the first time, but to have one address you, at least indirectly, was something entirely different.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house you know." The monk, Rick would later learn he was known as the Fat Friar, continued, smiling at the first years.

Then the stern witch from earlier returned as she said she would was standing right behind Rick. He turned ever so slowly to look at her. "Move along now," she said sharply. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. Now, form a line, and follow me."

With that they all followed her into Great Hall. Rick's eyes immediately went to the ceiling which appeared to look exactly like the night sky. _Ok, that's cool._ He also noticed the candles floating precariously over the tables and thought 'those _have _to be enchanted because one, they were floating…duh and two, they didn't seem to be burning down at all. There was no wax falling down on the people below. _That's rather ingenious really. _Finally Rick turned his attention back to eye level and realized he was standing at the front of the hall with his back facing all the other students, who were sitting at four long tables across the Great Hall._ Gulp._ He finally noticed a large, tattered wizard hat sitting on a three legged stool in front of the first years, between them and the head table, at which sat all the staff. _What was all this about? _He didn't have to wait long for an answer because just then the hat began to sing.

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself If you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means _

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

As soon as the hat finished its song the entire hall erupted with cheers. The hat tipped itself to each of the tables and then ceased all movement. 'That is remarkable' thought Rick. He leaned in hoping to hear more but the hat had finished its song. Rick glanced over at Kate for a moment wondering what was going on. Kate looked somewhat nauseated.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," said Professor McGongall as she unfurled the large scroll of student names in her hands. "Abbott, Hannah." Rick watched the little auburn-haired girl with pig tails approach the hat apprehensively. The deputy headmistress placed the hat on Hannah's head while the rest of the room watched and waited with baited breath to see which house would be the first to gain a new student.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table just to their left cheered with excitement. The young girl hopped off the stool and ambled towards the rambunctious table.

'If that's how that house welcomes new comers I hope end up there.' Rick didn't have time to dwell on that thought. He heard Kate's name and his head shot up. He watched Kate walk up to stool with a nervous look on her pale face. The two of them made eye contact for just a moment before Kate sat down and the hat was placed on her head, slipping just over her eyes. Rick wondered what could possibly be happening. What kind of magic gives a _hat_ the authority to tell students which house they belong in. The hat then moved slightly, twitching, almost anxiously. Then, finally…"RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table was now cheering the loudest. Rick could plainly see the brilliant smile on Kate's face as she made her way over to her new house mates. The few closest to her patted her on the back in congratulations as she sat down.

Rick's thoughts were recoiling themselves from his earlier desire to be a Hufflepuff just a few moments ago as he now knew that Kate had been made a Ravenclaw. A part of him wanted to stick with his friend. She was also the only person he really knew at this school but then again it wasn't really up to him it seemed. Maybe it would be a good thing if they _were_ in separate houses. He finally decided that he would be happy if he ended up in Ravenclaw but wouldn't be too disappointed if the hat placed him in one of the other houses. If the hat was right, they all had their merits.

Rick was no longer paying attention while the other students ahead of him were being sorted, until he heard his own name called out.

"Castle, Richard." Rick looked over at Kate who gave a thumb up and smile. He sat down on the stool and waited for the hat to determine his fate. The hat didn't quite fall over his eyes the way it had with Kate but his head was also slightly bigger then hers, and according to Kate that was in more ways than one.

Rick brushed the thought away when he heard a raspy whisper in his ear. "Richard Castle. Interesting. Very interesting. You're smart, resourceful, and have a knack for small details. You're mind is quite meticulously organized for a boy of your age. But that's to be off put by your short attention span. However, there is something far more important here. I can see the great love you have for your family, your mother in particular. You also possess a strong sense of loyalty to your friends. You have a good and passionate heart and agile mind that is ever expanding with curiosity for the world around you. Let me see…HUFFLEPUFF!"

Rick knew that he was going to be separated from Kate but she looked happy to be where she was over at the Ravenclaw table. He got off the stool and, after receiving a few pats on the back from his new housemates, took a seat at the Hufflepuff table next to a boy with sandy brown hair who appeared to be about fourteen.

The next name called was, "Esposito, Javier." The boy calmly marched up to the stool, but with shaking hands placed the hat on his own head. It was only after a moment that the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Rick cheered along as Javier joined their table. They were soon joined their by "Finch-Fletchley, Justin". "Finnigan, Seamus" was sorted into Gryffindor, as was "Granger, Hermione," who looked about ready to sprint off to the Gryffindor table when the hat finally made a decision. Rick was wondering what on earth had taken the hat so long to decide on with the girl with bushy brown hair.

Next up was a plump boy named Neville Longbottom, who, after being sorted into Gryffindor, practically ran off to the table but turned around and came back after realizing he still wore the hat on his head.

The next one to be sorted was "Ryan, Kevin," at whom Javier was shooting daggers with his eyes. Rick got a bad feeling, but decided to brush it off and not let it bother him for the time being. Their encounter with Kevin on the train hadn't exactly been pleasant but it wasn't worth it to worry about him right now. Ryan was sorted into Gryffindor.

Rick continued to watch as the dark skinned girl from the boats was called up next. Her name turned out to be Lanie Parish and she quickly joined Kate at the Ravenclaw table.

"Potter, Harry". Rick was most definitely listening now. Remembering the whispers he had heard on the train and the encounter they had all witnessed between Harry and that Malfoy kid just before the ceremony. Rick had watched as Malfoy had been sorted into Slytherin and had hoped for a split second that Kevin would end up in Slytherin with him.

Right now every head in the hall was turned to face the front. Everyone watched as Harry Potter took his place on the stool, looking a tad bit scared by everyone staring. Rick's eyes were wide with wonder. He knew by now that Harry was kind of a big deal though he had yet to learn his full story. After a few moments the hat yelled out "GRYFFINDOR" and Rick released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. He then joined in with the rest of the school in cheering over the hat's decision.

The hat made a few more placements for the remaining first years including a red head by the name of Weasley, who was placed in Gryffindor.

When everyone was settled a tall, silver-haired man wearing half-moon spectacles stood and addressed the entirety of the student body. Rick knew this had to Albus Dumbledore. Kate had mentioned him earlier that week.

"Welcome. Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore smiled at everyone before him. "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

_Well, he certainly has a way with words. _Rick thought. He immediately decided that he liked this guy. Dumbledore was OK in his book.

"Thank you!" Dumbledore finished his little speech and sat down to a roaring applause. Rick turned away and focused on his plate for a moment. Just then, food appeared in multitudes before him. What would he go for first? The table was laden with Pork Chicken, and beef, plus every vegetable he had ever heard of plus a few that he couldn't name.

Rick was scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate when he saw a hand extended to his right. He met the dark eyes of Javier Esposito. The kid was smiling at his in a friendly sort of way so Rick extended his own hand and shook Javier's firmly.

"Hi, I'm Esposito…just Esposito. Anyone calls me Javi, they're dead. Got that? And you are?"

"Rick Castle. Call me whatever you like." Esposito smirked at this and seemed satisfied with Rick's response.

"Nice to meet you Castle."

"You too. So is that another American accent I hear?"

"Yeah, I'm from New York City."

"Hey, me too."

"No kiddin'. What part of the city are you from?"

"Well my mom and I were living in Manhattan before I left to come here. What about you?"

"My family's from the Bronx. They're muggles apparently. Had no idea I was a wizard 'til my letter came."

"Me either. My mom isn't a witch. As it turns out my dad was a wizard but I didn't really ever know him. He left us when I was very young."

"Sorry to hear that man. That's rough."

"Thanks."

Rick spent the rest of the meal chatting with Esposito and stuffing his face with as much of the delicious food as he could get. The two of them bonded over their mutual love for their hometown and muggle upbringing. Rick hadn't realized how famished he was until he starting eating. He suddenly regretted stuffing himself with dinner when the desserts started appearing on the table.

Once dessert was finished everyone's plates vanished and tables magically cleared themselves.

Headmaster Dumbledore spoke again at this time. "Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." This right away got Rick's head spinning as to what was so dangerous about the forest that it was forbidden. Not that he was all that anxious to enter the forest anyway. He was pretty much a city boy to the bone.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."

Dumbledore's tone took on a very somber tone suddenly. "And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Nearly everyone in the hall looked concerned with this news. Clearly something like this was unusual for the school.

After his message set in the headmaster's twinkle returned to his eyes. "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" With a flick of his wand a large scroll appeared above his head and unrolled. "Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!"

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling _

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff_

_So teach us things worth knowing_

_Bring back what we've forgot_

_Just do your best _

_We'll do the rest_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everyone finished the song at different times, the last ones being a set of red-headed Gryffindor twins who were smiling like idiots the entire time. When it was quiet once again Dumbledore clapped loudly and it appeared that he even had tears in his eyes. "Ah music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot."

Suddenly it seemed like every single person in the hall was moving at once. Rick stood wondering where it was he was suppose to go. He looked at Esposito. "Do you know what's going on?"

However Esposito didn't have a chance to answer because they heard an older student yelling towards them. "Hufflepuff's this way, first year's, follow me; this way to the Hufflepuff common room." The older girl had blonde hair and a matter of fact air about her. Rick moved to follow her and found himself staring at the back of the black-haired Harry Potter's head. He looked around to see if Kate had left yet. Finding her just across the way from him, he smiled at her and she returned the smile, looking tired. He couldn't see her for very long because he was soon being pushed through the crowd to follow the rest of his house.

The blonde girl they had been following lead them out of the great hall and toward a hallway off to the left of the great hall. They made their way down sever steps to a lower level of the same corridor. There was less light down her but there were torches lit and Rick found himself gazing around at the stone walls and ceiling around him, trying to remember which direction they had come from.

"Come on you lot. Keep up. This is the quickest path to the common room."

Rick exchanged a look with Esposito, who raised his eyebrows almost sarcastically.

They finally came to a dead end in the corridor. To their right was a large portrait of fruit and on their left was a large stack of wooden barrels. Each one of the barrels was large enough for anyone of them to fit inside.

Alright, first years," the blonde girl spoke again. "This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room and dormitories." She walked over the barrels and tapped on the one sitting in the very middle of the stack, second from the bottom. The tapping was in a pattern of five beats. As soon as she was finished the barrel swung open to reveal a tunnel large enough for a grown man to crawl through.

"As you can see, if you do this properly the entrance will open for you. Do this incorrectly and one of the other barrels will spout vinegar all over you. This is of course to prevent intruders to the common room. It's sort of like having a password. Get it wrong and not only will you not be granted access but you will also get very wet and wreak of vinegar. The tapping is in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. Five syllables, five taps. It's important that you not share this secret with students from other houses. Understood?"

They nodded their heads yes and one by one entered the tunnel. The Hufflepuff common room was a large but cozy looking room decorated with soft earth tones and banners of yellow and black. There were portraits on the walls of people Rick had never seen before. Most of them looked like they were from another century. On the far wall right above the large fire place was a moderately sized portrait of a woman whom they later learned to be Helga Hufflepuff herself. She had the portrait placed there so that she always had a way of watching over her pupils even after she was gone. It was believed that Hufflepuff had had a great maternal instinct but had no children of her own. Her students had been like her children and she loved them as such.

"Welcome. This is you common room. This is where you will spend much of your time when not in classes and after curfew. The boys dormitories are to the left through that barrel hole in the wall, girls the same on the right." The prefect finished explaining this and Rick then noticed the large barrel tops low on the wall. Much the same as the ones they had entered the common room through. "Just place your hand on the barrel and it should open for you. However, if boys and girls try to enter each others' dormitories they will refuse to open. Just don't try it, ok? I don't want to have to give you detention."

"Why would we want to get into each other's dorms anyway?" Esposito whispered to Rick as they started toward the appropriate dormitory entrance.

"Beats me," Rick answered back with a shrug.

When they reached their dorm they noticed that there were five large four poster beds arranged around the room. The bed clothes were colored gold with intricate black patterns woven into the fabric. There was also black velvet drapes hanging around each bed with gold trim around the edges.

"Woah, check this place out. We really get to live here?" said Rick, whose eyes were wandering all around the room.

The other boys were choosing their beds. A brown-haired boy name Justin had chosen a spot on far wall to Rick's left. A blond boy named Ernie had chosen the bed right next to Justin's left side.

"Which one do you want?" Rick asked Esposito.

"I guess I'll take this one," he said pointing to one right in front of them; walking around the grate in the middle of the room that probably held the room's main source of heat.

"Ok, then." Rick moseyed over to the large bed to Esposito's left. "I guess this one's mine." He glanced down at the floor noticing that his trunk had already been there waiting for him. The last bed was left empty because there were only four of them.

Rick felt physically drained form such a long day. This place was a lot to take in. Though he was grateful to have his new mates to count as friends, especially his New York hailing brother Esposito, he still found himself feeling lonely. He missed his mother, his bedroom back home; he even missed the sounds of the city that would lull him to sleep every night. It was so quite here. Also, despite the fact that she was here in the castle, he missed Kate. He had grown used to sharing a room with her over the last week while they stayed at the Leaky Cauldron.

_Snap out of it Castle, you don't miss her that much. You just met her a week ago. You cannot have grown that attached to her already. She's a girl for crying out loud. _Rick tried to convince himself of this as he put on his pajamas and crawled into his new bed as the other boys did much of the same thing. He debated whether or not to pull the curtains around him. Finally, he decided against it, noticing that there was a window a few feet from his bed. Perhaps the sun would wake him up in the morning. He didn't want to oversleep.

"Good night guys," Rick said as he settled down under the covers.

"Good night." came three different voices.

That night Rick dreamt about flying. There was large expanse of green land below him, and the sun shining down on his back. Not only was he flying but he riding what appeared to be a giant eagle with a horse's back legs and tail.

**Yay! Done with this chapter. Took forever but it's done. Woohoo! Looking forward to what's to come. What's Rick's first day of classes going to be like? Stayed tuned to find out. **

Thank you for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Do Not Own Castle or Harry Potter…you know the drill. **

Chapter 9 (First day: Part 1)

The sun came streaming through the high window of the dormitory that first morning of classes. Rick squinted, trying to block the sun from his eyes. He could still hear the snoring from two of his dorm mates and took a moment to look around him and take in the gravity of where he was and what he was doing there. He was at Hogwarts because a few weeks ago he had found out he is a wizard and he was there to learn magic.

After a long groggy sigh, letting it all sink in, he sat up and trudged over to the bathroom for a shower.

When he emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later fully dressed, teeth brushed, and hair still a little damp, his dorm mates were all awake and seemed to have the same idea he had.

"Mates, maybe it would be a good idea to set up some kind of schedule for the bathroom in the mornings," said Ernie.

"Not a bad idea," agreed Esposito.

"Well, it's a little late for that this morning, mates. Come on let's get some breakfast," said Justin.

"Yeah, I'm hungry," Rick said, grabbing his bag that he had loaded up with quills, parchment and a few of his school books.

Rick fidgeted with his yellow and black striped tie as he and Javier walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. Esposito tapped him lightly and Rick stopped fidgeting. "Dude, what's your problem? Are you nervous or something?"

"Oh, nothing I was just thinking."

"Thinking? About what?"

Just then Rick saw Kate wave at him from the Ravenclaw table.

"Oh, just…about what classes we have today. I didn't get a schedule, did you?"

"No."

It was then that they noticed the plump, bubbly woman with mousy, flyaway hair walking up and down the Hufflepuff table handing out sheets of parchment to students at the table who were trying to eat their breakfast. Rick and Esposito took their seats about midway up the table. Ernie and Justin had split off from them to join some second years they seemed know. The two of them started to dig into plates of eggs and toast when the older woman came by them.

"Excuse me boys. I have your class schedules here. Names?"

"Castle."

"Esposito."

"Well here you are Mr. Castle and Mr. Esposito. I'm Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff. Pleasure to have you two in my house and I look forward to seeing you in Herbology later this week." Sprout gave them a warm smile and continued on her way down the table.

Rick glanced down to study his schedule. "Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, History of Magic, Herbology? Well it's certainly different from the kind of classes I would be taking at our Muggle schools back in New York."

"You got that right bro." Epsosito said in agreement. "But, hey, look we have a flying lesson mid-week. That should be fun. I certainly never thought I would actually ever learn to fly a broom stick."

"Well, I have the feeling this year is going to be full of firsts for us."

Rick's first class of the day was Transfiguration. This class was taught by the authoritative woman from yesterday, Professor McGonagall. Rick had been looking forward to this class since Mrs. Beckett had told him about it. It had been one of her favorite classes.

"Hey you." Kate came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Rick jumped, slightly surprised. Kate just smiled at this and looked Rick square in the eye.

"Hey back."

"You have this class now too?"

"It looks that way." Rick suggested, looking down at his schedule.

"Well then maybe you could find a seat."

"Huh?"

"We're blocking the doorway."

"OH! Sorry."

Kate rolled her eyes slightly at him as they and the other students made their way into the room to find their seats. Rick looked around to see Esposito seated about half-way up the row, waving him towards the desk next to him. It was on the outside of the isle, next to wall.

Rick glanced back and forth between Kate and Espo for a moment, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. Kate could see the struggle in his face.

"Hello," she said stepping up to Javier, "I'm Kate." Javier took her extended hand and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you, Kate. My name's Esposito."

"You got a first name, cowboy." Kate smirked; playing on the fifth American accent she had heard here at Hogwarts . Espo stared for a moment, considering this. Rick wondered whether he was going to let _her _call him_ Javier_.

"It's Javier."

"Well, nice to meet you Javier. Rick, why don't you sit here with _our_ new friend? Lanie is calling me over there anyway." She gestured to a table across the room. "See you guys after class."

"Later." Esposito called, turning to grin at Castle.

"What?" Rick asked.

"_Our _friend? So was that your_ girlfriend_ Castle?"

"Kate? No, no, no, no she and I are just friends. I'm allowed to have a friend who just happens to be a girl. Aren't I?"

"Dude, chill. I'm just playing."

Rick sighed outwardly.

It wasn't long after that that McGonagall showed up and started class. They were instructed to attempt a spell used to turn matchsticks into needles…only after McGonagall had given them an introduction into transfiguration. The lecture had included tedious note-taking. Rick had trouble mastering the use of the quill. 'Why can't we just use pencils and pens like normal people?' The thought actually made him laugh very quietly to himself when he remembered where he was. McGonagall caught his barely audible chuckle and gave him a stern look.

The last part of class included turning their books and taking careful notes on the first chapter about the basic essentials of transfiguration. Almost no one noticed when Prof. McGonagall silently stood from her chair and shrunk to the ground into her cat form. Rick had never seen anything like that before, except in the movies, but he was now seeing it right in front of his eyes. His eyes went wide. When cat McGonagall glared at him, he turned his head back down to his notes and tried to focus but couldn't. Just before he looked back at the page he was studying he could have sworn the cat smirked slightly at him, as if amused. 'That was awesome!'

When they were dismissed the class gathered their things and filed out of the room. As promised, Kate waited outside the classroom for the boys. Not only was she there but so was the girl she called Lanie earlier, a fellow Ravenclaw.

"Boys, I'd like you to meet my friend, Lanie Parish. She's a fellow New Yorker just like us Rick. Lanie, this is Rick Castle and Javier Esposito. Sorry, Javier I never did ask where you were from. "

"The Bronx, NYC."

"No kidding," Lanie said, intrigued; a smile forming on her shy face. "Staten Island."

Espo smiled and sent her a nod while Rick just waved slightly and said "hey".

Lanie gave Rick a once-over and said "hello" before turning back to Kate and whispering something to her that made both of them giggle.

Rick felt so lost, like he was missing something. 'Must be a girl thing.' Javier gave Castle a look identical to the one that the latter was sporting, both boys a little confused. Finally Rick gave an interrupting cough in the girls' direction. Kate and Lanie both contained their laughter long enough to inquire as to what classes the boys had next.

"Well," said Rick examining the peace of parchment resting on top of his books, "we are actually due for a free period then lunch. After lunch we've got Potions and then Charms."

"Guess we'll be seeing you in Potions then. We've got History of Magic after that." Lanie stated.

"Well, we have to go. We've got charms next. Don't want to be late. Come on, Lanie." Kate implored suddenly in a hurry.

"See ya later."Rick said, "Nice to meet you Lanie."

"You too, Castle." Lanie said, "Javier, see you later."

"Sure, whatever." Esposito looked a little taken aback. Then the girls were off the opposite direction.

"Dude, what was that about?"

"No idea." Rick said, coyly. "Maybe she likes you." Rick smiled cheekily at his friend's dumbfounded look.

"Relax, man. That's just payback for earlier.

"Oh, you're dead." Esposito tried tackling Castle but he escaped swiftly, dashing through the crowded corridor as fast as he could in a random direction, away from Espo. Soon he was just going whichever way his legs would take him, not particularly caring where exactly that was. He soon found himself at a large set of wooden doors and felt compelled to open them; not sure of what was behind them. Rick put his hand on the large, ornate door knob and pushed inward.

**Yay! It has been far too long since I have even touched this story. I missed it. **** As I'm sure some of you did too. Anyway, that's it for this chapter. Thank you to those of you who have been ever so patient with me. Let me know what you think. All input is appreciated. BTW, I felt a bit more compelled to finish this chapter after getting another follower to this story so thank you to Jayie of Akali for motivating me this time around. See you all again next time. 3**


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